Your Melodies
by H A R U K A -light
Summary: AU-Eikio,a fictional town in Japan,is where this story takes place.And this story deals with the ordeals of a very dense girl,a confused boy who wants to prove he is a man,a music contest,a corrupt industry,obligations,friendship and unrestrained desires.
1. The Industries

**A/N-I had originally posted this story up, under Misc. and had erased it now I want to share it again. Also this story is completely AU so some of the characters aren't really the same. Tell me if it is a problem.**

_**DISCLAIMER-I do not own Special A**_

Your Melodies

"_Melodies make you feel so many things, in so many different ways, through out your life they accompany you and soothe you, and they spread raw emotion through the road that follows beyond the path that destiny might take you. To the strong cords and sweet strums of the wooden guitar, those that gently weigh on the palm of your hand as you play, to the silvery white, unwavering keys of the soft and twinkling song ,that dance around your fingers, as you play the grand piano,… music will forever be, just that… music. And music like melodies or lullaby's make you feel so many things in so many different instances, random moments, unexpected moments, that leave you speechless and yearning to grasp the comprehension that you seem to yearn for when the sweet notes of a song brush against your ear. Whispers and promises, I know, that only hang in the air then descend and fall, like petals from a flower, like blossoms from a tree, much like…_

Chapter 1-

_The Industries_

The sun was setting down, hanging low on the tree tops and in-between the green grassy hills that towered small across great and misty fields that surrounded the downtown district of the city. The towering buildings made of glass and steel stood like giants, overpowering all other small and anonymous buildings and shops that scattered the area. All the shingles and every pane of polished glass shone with the soft and glittering form of fresh dew that was brought upon by the mourning mist. The streets smelled most like people and a floral scent mixed in at times coming from the weary flower vendor standing solitary in the corner, waving her roses to people passing by., More smells, fresh and crisp, came from a little farther in the streets, mostly the aromas of freshly baked bread from the pastry shop on the other side of the road, where the baker stood waiting to make a sale with batches of sweet cakes and drinks.

Downtown of the city was purely industrial, the steel buildings smoky in the distance from the arising fumes it ensued every day through the cylinder shaped chimneys. The immensity of the whole thing overwhelmed and took you by surprise at times, for your eyes would rest at the shady towering giants, then wavered to the small and peaceful town that seemed to be disconnected from the buildings both in your mind and in reality. The population was small but there were enough people living in the inner part of the city that, it was guaranteed that you wouldn't bump into the same person twice. Few people lived in the inner part of the city, the industrial part that is, while many lived on the outer edge of the towers, in that same minute town, the town of Eiko, Japan.

Though partly disconnected from each other, Eiko depended much from the industries. Social life, economy, and technology all depended on those immense buildings of towering form lying in the heart of the city. The incorporations, the industries, as everyone called them, were not governed by Eiko but by its wealthy and powerful neighbor Tokyo. Tokyo laid the lines, and secured the jobs of many of the Eiko's inhabitants. Granted, about every household had at least one family member working in the industries. Eiko depended from their work there, mostly the people living nearer to the towers, but the suburbs as well, all, looked at the industries as the manner of communications to the outside world. Secluded it was, towering in the shadow of all other cities, theirs a shiny utopia if indifference. The industries, were also a form of separation between the inner part of Eiko, run mainly by Tokyo, and the outside barrier where a more homely and gentle atmosphere abounded the plenty homes of the city's dwellers. Each segment had its own population difference, living throughout Eiko's uptown and downtown, there were their own ways, and rules their own business.

However, despite the diversity of Eiko, all came together, by the form of education. Even though the inner part and the outer part were far apart, they all had to share the only three schools Eiko was able to provide. Saito Elementary, Ito Middle, and Sakura High. At first, uproars arose from the frustrated inhabitants, who angered in having to drive their children all the way into the middle of where both segments divided. Yet, Eiko being small and busy, let all complaints subside as the villagers gave up complaining, trying to keep up with their busy schedules at the industries. The students from all throughout the city had passed those three schools together and because of them, it was how the upper city men and the lower city men had any form of bond between them. The schools were segregated into parts of the city and conveniently located between the starting point of the street that lead to the industries and the sunny sides of the suburbs.

Only a few blocks away from the school buildings were rounding valleys, shaded with daffodils and cherry blossoms, tall green trees imbedded them with their tall shade, with figurines of a massive forest that loomed beyond. Sakura High was nearer to these valleys than the other schools, getting its name from the thousands of surrounding cherry blossom trees that surrounded it. And for that same reason it also had the most talked about beauty, for the buildings were almost like new and shaded a silvery transcending pink that matched and mirrored the ever falling blossoms in spring. The ever winding road that connected all of Eiko seemed to spread and reach so far beyond…

Far and Beyond…"Hikari, are you listening?" a voice wafted annoyingly to Hikari's ears brushing them and tugging at her mind until it gave up and turned its attention to the brunette head that was bobbing up and down franticly trying to capture any flicker of attention. It took Hikari a few moments to respond as she and Akira clambered over the small wet stones that paved the long road that they were walking on.

"Yeah, but I spaced out for a moment." Hikari said after several seconds of Akira's head moving frantically in front of Hikari's face sparring with disapproving looks. Hikari raised her hands in defense and pointed toward the road, "The road is long, you know, you can't help getting distracted," she said as Akira examined the long horizon ahead with her deep brown eyes, one that loomed beyond the main buildings of the school and covered it with the colors of early mourning. After a while, the buildings seemed to draw nearer and nearer until everything seemed smaller in comparison to the high crystal building of the main office.

Akira sighed a moment later and shot Hikari a look of frustration, "Sure whatever …ugh," she lead out another sound of annoyance and ran a hand through her shining short brown hair, hair that Hikari couldn't help but follow slowly with her eyes. Akira was that kind of person, frustrating herself with her appearance every so minute, running her hand in her hair constantly, taking out hand held mirrors every class period, fixing smudged makeup every so hour, and the list went on and on. Hikari found it extremely irritating at times, when Akira would cut her sentences to check her appearance when they passed a clear and shiny store window. Akira was like that though and through it all, one of the reasons that Akira was the official princess of Sakura High.

"Akira!" Hikari heard a voice in the distance coming nearer and nearer until her eyes saw a flash of the bright colors of Sakura Highs school uniforms running to Akira. The gang of freshman girls hugged her and Akira smiled dazzlingly at them while they all bowed and curtseyed at her saying their Good Mornings. Exactly, that Akira was everyone's favorite, getting attention from gangs of girls and often also gangs of boys, who came up to her and asked her all these questions, like 'What's your number?' and 'Are you free tomorrow night?' Hikari often looked at her attention wearingly; she being invisible to everyone else around only being noticed when she was literally in Akira shadow. Maybe she was exaggerating because when it came to attention Akira looked the part, her complexion was fair and clean, her brunette hair was usually arranged in a lovely arrangement that showed off her clear brown eyes. Naturally that was what attracted everyone to Akira, her looks and that bubbly personality of hers, one that followed her everywhere; even when she popped out of nowhere her aura of bright happiness would warn you beforehand so that you knew when she was near. Anyone could have been her best friend, and have been happy about it. Hikari was her best friend and she didn't feel very happy at all.

Everyone was Akira's friend and after looking at the loveliness that she could compose was slightly taken aback when they saw who was tagging behind. "Oh look, it's umm…" they would start and Akira giggling behind would say "Hikari." Hikari always pretended to ignore this and always turned away rolling her eyes while doing so. This was so often a day that Hikari was used to it, used to it even five years later from the first day she became Akira's friend. And why did she become Akira's friend? Maybe one of the reasons everyone else was, maybe her motive more deep that others, but still genuinely all the same. One too deep to cover through simple words, words that tried to conjure up a reason but at the end never made any sense. Anyhow, she was considered her friend now by every living person, and the reason and her own feelings were pushed aside altogether to appoint where they didn't matter anymore. And another question always buzzed through Hikari head, why did Akira become Hikari's friend?

Maybe, Hikari thought, turning away from Akira's brown hair and the squealing faces of Sakura High's freshmen girls, and away temporally from the busy buildings of the High School and looked wearingly at the road they were just on. The far off trees were so distant now, behind the towers of the industries only far enough to blur and so close enough to see....Hikari sighed deeply but felt a shock of surprise as she heard the distant bell of the school ring sharply in her ears.

"Hikari!" she heard Akira scream her way and Hikari stood, a bit dazed from being torn away from her thoughts, facing the direction of the school buildings, closed her eyes and ran to her class alongside Akira thinking that her world would stay the same way forever….

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The sun was beginning to turn that orangey color of evening…the whole city was bathed in a radiant glow of golden swirls of light. Hikari looked out the window that rested a little above her desk and gazed outward into the evening. It was only 2:30 but the sun was already starting to set and the fiery, sleepy atmosphere that always followed was beginning to settle everywhere. She sat at her desk lazily, slouching a little feeling her mind fall into a trance as she watched the birds outside fly and settle on high pine tree tops. Once in a while she would look up wearingly at Takahashi-sensei as the short, stammering teacher went on and on about the difference in equations and numbers holding variables and adding linear systems and so on. Normally she would have been paying more attention but the whole day had been a little dreary and she felt a bit tired at that time having carried throughout the whole day a sense of strange weariness at all the work she had to do.

She yawned deeply and rested her head among the thick books on her desk. Her eyes closed a bit and she felt her consciousness drift into a strange kind of active sleep one which felt like she was awake but subconscious at the same time. She felt several moments pass and confident that Takahashi-sensei wouldn't catch her sleeping she fully closed her eyes and began to steady her breathing to a soft sigh and soon she felt as her body fall into calm sleep. Her mind strayed into blurry thoughts all of dreams she had before, trying to recall them and trying to grasp understandment. She thought about how much she hated Math but how good everyone thought she was at it…so good in fact that she was skipped a year in that subject so that she had all11th grade classes and 12th grade math. At first she thought it was bad idea to take a higher grade subject without knowing the basic principle of it but at the end was roughly convinced by her parents to excel in a subject she despised so much. At the end it didn't really matter, the class was boring but it was easy enough that she didn't have to worry too much about it. As so, time would go by and she would get accustomed to what she was expected to do.

Hikari didn't feel any time pass, but nevertheless she felt as if she had been asleep a long time as she stood up hastily, as so did everyone of her older classmates, when she heard a loud knock come from the door. Takahashi-sensei, who also seemed a bit dazed, gazed at the door for a moment before wearingly approaching it, a look of frustration evident on his face. Hikari once again settled her head on the desk and yawned seeing that it was probably just a teacher or school board member popping up to visit as so many times before. She felt her eyes wonder again to the orangey skies above her…wishing badly that she could go home and lay down on her bed. She heard the door open and a set of footsteps enter the classroom, sounding hasty and shuffled. Then almost suddenly as soon as the door shut she heard an eruption of murmurs and sudden whispers exchanged from everyone as they all acknowledged the person that had entered the room whom which had disturbed the sleepy peace that pressed against the room.

Just then…feeling the curiosity overwhelm her heavy weariness she looked up and saw that instead of a teacher or school board member ,a boy with shiny blonde hair stood there handing Takahashi-sensei papers with some unidentifiable words written on them. Hikari couldn't see the boy very well, from her seat in the back but she could easily see that he had deep eyes of glassy blue which stood steadily focused on the teacher as she saw them exchange words with each other. Several moments passed, and she noticed that she wasn't the only one suddenly interested in the unexpected arrival of this boy. Some students where also giving the pair curious looks and scrutinizing faces as all of them tried to guess why the boy was there. She felt strangely startled as the teacher stood to face them, and everyone ignoring the quadratic equations on the board turned their heads to face back at him, who said in his wheezy nasal voice, "It seems we have a new student joining our class today…everyone say hello to Takishima Kei ,"

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"Class, Takashima-san, comes all the way from America." Takahashi-sensei said, his forearm urging the blonde- haired boy forward to the front of his oak desk, facing the still scrutinizing class. The boy hardly looked their way, his face seemingly distracted and dazed out, his glassy blue eyes gazing only in a certain direction, as he raised an awkward hand in acknowledgement as every one chorused a myriad of Welcome's and Hello's.

Takahashi-sensei stumbled forward on his black polished boots and wheezed out pointing a menacing index finger at the class, "I expect you all to be courteous to Takashima-san, he has only arrived recently and this being his first time in Japan, he might not feel so comfortable with his surroundings yet, so I also expect you out of the goodness of your hearts to help him out…" as he said that, he twisted his heel around, and gesturing at Kei first then gesturing his hand to the desk next to a still dazed Hikari, finished with,

"That being said, and all, Takashima-san, if don't mind taking the available seat in the back next to the lovely sleeping beauty there, we can begin to get you settled," Everyone, including Takashima-san turned their heads to face her, their heads being guided by the muffled cry of dreaded embarrassment that she had let out, as Takahashi-sensei gestured to her blushing and heated face. She let her head bow in inevitable shame, as she heard some of her fellow classmate's snicker relentlessly. She was sure that Takahashi-sensei wouldn't notice, and then feeling suddenly undeniably foolish, she began to smile awkwardly despite her self, and then began to laugh along with the rest of the class.

"Sorry, sensei…"she breathed out but felt abruptly distracted when she noticed that suddenly Kei-sensei had seated himself next to her.

She heard briefly Takahashi-sensei say not unkindly, "Sure, Hanazono-chan." Hikari looked up at, Takahashi-sensei swiftly in acknowledgement as he said this, and then as he turned his nearly bald head around to the equation filled blackboard, she turned her head shyly next to her to see in full sight the figure of the new kid.

The desks in Takahashi-sensei's room, were the color of oak, much like his own desk, and were long types of benches, like those you might find in a Christian church with a long attaching desk in front of the emerald colored cushions that lined the back part of the desk. Since the length was quite long as well, there was enough space for two a row, and as she glanced next to her, she could finally see the features of Kei-sensei closely. His head was bowed down, his forehead resting on the smooth surface of the oak desk, it seemed, his blue eyes also airily focused on the empty space between his legs. He started to rummage through his black leather satchel and Hikari who tried to suppress her startling wayward curiosity, looked the other way, straight forward toward the back figure of a lecturing Takahashi-sensei and breathed deeply. She gently ran her shaking cramped hand through her black hair and noticed awkwardly that it had fallen asleep. Cursing softly, she lifted one of her trembling fingers to her forehead and massaged her cloudy eyes that focused tiredly on the blackboard's shiny exterior.

"_Baka"_she whispered underneath her breath, and smiling ruefully despite herself, gazed up once again above the musty dust that lay circling among the fading shade that she had been focusing only earlier before they had lulled her to sleep. The evening was gentle, she knew her eyes glancing a bit farther than the road lay ahead, that class would soon be over, and that the evening would soon turn a more brilliant shade of autumn gold and roseleaf pink. Hikari balled up her fist tightly and gently nudged her head awake, muttering _baka_ once more beneath her almost dry lips and despite herself yawned deeply, which almost threatened to put her to sleep once more. But her pride, didn't allow it and feeling embarrassed from everyone noticing she had fallen asleep during class, stood up as straight as she could and brushed some of the silver collecting dust that had settled on her half-empty notes.

Before commencing on a futile effort to catch up on her algebra notes, she looked sideways at her new algebra classmate. He had taken out a black bounded notebook she saw, from the equally black bounded satchel, and had started to write several kanji characters in the crisp blank pages. Not knowing whether she should introduce herself or not, her thoughts were suddenly interrupted by Takahashi-sensei wheezy voice that wafted irritably to her ears.

"So, students, now that we have finished proving the more complex functions of the quadratic equations," he said, pointing vaguely to the black marks that he had finished scribbling on the board, "We will begin the pair project of graphing 5 equations on a poster board, let's say, this big" then he lifted his arms wide depicting a size smaller than the blackboard but bigger than a 3 by 4 inch board.," It will be put on display," he continued, "and the best team effort will not go unrewarded," he lifted his furry brow at them slightly, and then looked above them all, and smiled straightly at Hikari's distracted expression.

"Gladly, now, Hanazono-chan, you have a partner to work with, unlike before, and heaven hopes he be competent to keep up with you, eh…" he chuckled slightly underneath his raised arm and the rest of the class looked past him, to resume their tedious class work, or their nearly finished algebra project. Hikari looked down at her notebook, and flipping a page with her finger, turned to the page with all her project notes scratched messily all over. She had began alone, having asked the teacher to, feeling inferior to the other students working on the same subject. She didn't mind working on it alone, that's why she had asked a fumbling Takahashi-sensei for a solitary desk in the back, but now since the circumstances had brought her a companion, she couldn't complain.

Hikari turned her head to Kei-sensei and breathing deeply outstretched a trembling hand and whispered softly, "_Konnichiwa…watashi namae wa Hanazono Hikari**."_

For a moment_, _he didn't respond absorbed solely on the kanji letters scribbled on his black notebook, which made Hikari feel strangely uncomfortable. Several more moments passed them, and she said a little louder, "_Dozu Yoroshiku onegai shimasu…***" _

Still unresponsive after several moments she felt her raised hand fall limply unto her lap, and she began to feel nervous and annoyed all at once. Resigned Hikari turned around heatedly and muttered underneath her breath, "Deaf or mute, which is it?" She didn't think she would be heard until unexpectedly she saw through the corner of her eyes, the glassy blue of Takashima-san staring at her blankly.

She felt her face heat slightly as she turned to stare back at him, and trying to clear her throat slightly, _Baka she thought repeatedly in her head,_ she raised her, once more, a trembling arm in welcome and said even more softly,

"_Konnichiwa…watashi namae wa Hanazono Hikari_." Several tense seconds passed again and Takashima-sans gaze lowered to her outstretched hand and continued to stare blankly. Hikari felt her arm cramp slightly from the over tensed pressure of lifting it shakily, but still having it raised in welcome, muttered, "Dozu Yoroshiku…"

He continued to stare blankly, resting his lolling head on the base his arm and then lazily running one of his long hands through his longish blonde hair, he said "Kei Takishima," he blinked blankly, and then seeing that her arm was still outstretched to him, he seemed resigned to shake her hand, so he took her palm in his, and shook it roughly once before letting it fall limply down.

Hikari simply stood their, huddling her arm close to her indignantly and thought,

"_What's with this guy?" _Her weariness had simply vanished at the spot, replaced with high hopes that her new companion from America wouldn't turn out to be a lazy jerk. She stared blankly at Takashima-san and blinked twice, thinking that she shouldn't jump into conclusions, for she now noticed that his face was completely coated with weariness. _I wonder how long it takes to get from America to Japan. ,_ she thought as she saw him sigh tiredly into his hand ruffling his blonde hair upward.

"Sorry, for my imprudence, you must be tired…." She tried to say but before she could finish, Takashima-san looked up straight at her with blank eyes, and muttered,

"Ms. Whoever you are, I realize that we have been paired up with some kind of project but I would appreciate," he then paused slightly looking blankly at her grey eyes and breathed out, "if you wouldn't talk so much." His voice was slightly deep, but had a soft undertone with it, making it emphasize how blunt he was being with her. Hikari could only stare blankly at him, like the awkward times she had with Akira, when she had suddenly felt herself disconnected to what she was saying to her, exactly like feeling disconnected to the sudden response she had received from this stranger. He continued to stare at her blankly, as to emphasize even more his point, and then turned around quirkily with a muffled slowness accompanying his move. He shoved his leathered bound notebook into his satchel and clicked the lock close, making a definite _click_ ensue from them. Hikari stood there feeling strangely disgruntled, not only from the surprise, but for despite the fact that her sole purpose was to be friendly to this newcomer, this complete stranger had responded in such an impolite and blunt way.

_Even if he's tired, I don't have to put up with this,_ she thought her breath slightly catching in her throat. Her eyes felt tired and she tried to suppress disdainfully the annoyed sigh that was ensuing from her lips. _I really don't have time for this… _she thought eyeing miserably between her half finished project and the new student that she was forced to work with. As she saw Takashima-san shift uncomfortably next to her, grabbing once again in his satchel and rummaging in it, she, not surprised that he had once again taken the leather bound notebook again, groaned softly in disbelief.

_I wonder if I could ask sensei if I could work alone again, nothing personal with this guy but, _shelooked sideways at the silhouette that she saw shadowing the evening colored walls, the silhouettes of more than a dozen students talking, studying, working, laughing. Her thoughts went wayward as she whispered,

"Maybe I'm so used to being alone." she shook her head softly trying to figure out how she had gotten from her frustration of mind to that strange thought. She thought of Akira and all the other people that always gathered excitedly around them, talking in high-pitched voices, always laughing ,always their. She felt a sickly a feeling in her stomach all of a sudden remembering the strange weariness that she had feeling all day. Hikari sighed as she felt her eye twitch to the rhythm of intense scribbling coming next to her.

_What is this guy writing?_ She thought eyeing him with annoyance and curiosity. He seemed engrossed in those creamy white pages as he wrote messily all over them with a black fountain pen. She looked down at her notes, once more, and feeling like she wouldn't get anything down before class ended, she figured, with resign that she could always do it for homework. Hikari hastily put everything away in her beige colored satchel and sighed lazily into her palms.

_Now what?_ Hikari thought, wondering whether she should just fall asleep again, but deciding against it, self-consciously peered at Takashima-san. He was still writing in his notebook. Despite her anger, her curiosity getting the best of it, she craned her neck upward to take a peek at his black colored book Hikari could only make out a sentence that read_, _

_Fusagareta mabuta kara nagaredashita namida,Kurikaeshi mushibamareru risei to chi no kakera _

before she felt herself get startled by the sound of the notebook being hastily shut in front of her eyes. Takashima-san turned his head around to face her, with a look of slight annoyance in his face, putting the notebook on his lap hastily. Her face felt hot but she faced him either way, as to show that she wasn't afraid of him and his monotonous expression. He continued to stare at her, blankly, as if waiting for her to say something to explain herself. Hikari thought hastily of what she could blurt out at him with out making her seem like a nosy schoolgirl, when the bell rang loudly filling the whole class of an echoing ding dong that rebounded against the walls.

Not even waiting for her to begin to talk, Takashima-san stood up with the rest of the class, as they all rushed through to the door. Their shuffling in place drowned the voice of Takahashi –sensei who was trying to speak loudly enough for them to hear, his wheezy undertone yelling out,

"Okay, everyone dismissed, don't forget your project, due next week." Hikari stood sitting down for a moment and with out thinking, hastily picked up her notes and reached for Takashima-san touching him barely on the shoulder, saying

"Wait." She quickly withdrew her hand when he stopped to turn around to stare at her his blue eyes glancing at her with a dazed expression. She couldn't help but notice that his eyes were only slightly slanted sideways and that his skin was very pale. He looked partly foreigner she thought, as she saw his blonde hair cover slightly the raised eyebrows that he gave her. Hikari felt tongue-tied all of a sudden and then after several moments of silence she saw Takashima-senpai turn to leave. Impulsively she once again reached out to him, and said

"Wait, please." Seeing that he didn't stop this time, she stood their watching him leave the classroom, and Hikari not knowing what she was doing ran to him and stepped into his path.

It didn't turn out as she thought it would, because the moment she reached him, she lost her footing, misplacing her running ankle and she suddenly felt her body ram into his as she cut through his turn.. They both fell hard on the ground, and moments later were being rained on by several papers than had fallen from both their opened satchels. Takashima-san looked up at her, his face furious as he began to pick up his papers with haste. Hikari picked up, as well, some of her own papers and folders, pushing them in her satchel before picking up her algebra notebook, and with trembling fingers to pick up his black-leathered notebook. She felt undeniably embarrassed as he snatched it away from her and grabbing her arm roughly pulled them both up to their feet. Takashima-san glared at her intensely before saying edgily,

"What?"

Hikari bowed her head, abandoning her first class anger and whispered, "Sorry." For a moment, he looked at her wearingly before turning his heel and walking away. She looked up, suddenly at the sound of his loud footsteps echoing away and seeing that he wasn't there anymore felt her anger rise once again in her throat.

_What's wrong with this guy? _She thought heatedly, several moments later, turning the corner where the bus stop lay and where usually Akira would wait for her to walk walked across the small patch of field and cherry blossom trees, stomping once in a while on one of the fallen twigs that had half blossomed buds covering the twisted wood. She opened her algebra notes absent mindedly, which she had been carrying in her hand since class ended and felt startled as her eyes fell upon unfamiliar inky writing. She stopped completely under the next cherry blossom tree, as her eyes fell on the sentence she had once read before

_Fusagareta mabuta kara nagaredashita namida,Kurikaeshi mushibamareru risei to chi no kakera, -_Tears streamed from my squeezed-shut eyelids, My reason and the fragments of my blood are repeatedly undermined.

Hikari swayed a bit what she read and felt strangely hungry to keep on reading the black words etched on the notebook.

_Whether or not I'll find you, I will search…under those feelings that I find impossible to suppress or the feeling of misery that follows me wherever I go...I find my urge to find you…to feel the skin under your dress brush against my bare skin…feeling the long years that have separated us…for so long...don't run…let me find you…_

The rest continued on the next page and she tentatively filled with curiosity, turned the page and continued,

_Imbue itself into the night with filthy fingertips ,And wrench you open until you're torn to shreds And its peeling emotions will creak in a shallow sleep_

_If it can erase just about everything entirely right now_

There seemed to be more verses written after that and suddenly intrigued she leaned back on the base of the trunk of the nearest Sakura tree and continued to read slowly, trying to absorb the meaning of the words that she felt almost etching onto her skin. _If I can erase just about everything entirely right now…_

_Don't go… the night will escape that which is the hand of death, breath upon me your light…don't abandon that which begs for you. I yearn to hate that hand which has been feeding the retched dog that sleeps within me…those bites that can only tear so much of your white skin… _

**It kept going like that on and on until only one line was left…**

"_And its fleeting memories will blur with the remaining pain" _she whispered softly as she turned the page once again and saw that their were no more words, but notes, notes filling the lengths and columns of the pages, intertwining melodies and harmonies, both soft and loud. She tried instantly to hum the rhythm surprised that she found it to be both powerful and beautiful at the same time. As she closed the notebook defiantly, she smiled and whispered "What beautiful lyrics" she held the book closer to her chest and thought about, suddenly, the boy who had written them.

She thought that whatever his problem was, she somehow now understood, and she asked herself what was the reason that had brought him to Japan. To small, out of place Eiko. Hikari felt foolish when she looked back, thinking that she was probably bothering him, as he was trying to write this and she felt childish that she hadn't figured it out sooner. Hikari lifted her self up, feeling like something different and new had finally happened in the mist of all the synchronized days that had flown by. She took several steps forward and ran the rest of the way to the bus stop, feeling suddenly urged to talk to Takishima Kei.

As she reached the bus stop she noticed that it was getting darker as the blue velvety clouds were making the sky turn into a dazzling violet. There were several stars peering out unto her like frozen tears that would never fall, that would never fade. She still had the notebook in her hands and as she approached the stop, she did her best to hide in her arms before Akira could eye it. But Akira wasn't there. Hikari sighed, and figured that she had just left with the group of several freshman girls that crowded her like bees to a honeycomb.

And she was probably fed up with having to wait for her; it wasn't the first time it happened when Hikari was late. Secretly, Hikari did an inner flip as she walked happily to the next block. Her lips could not shake of the words, that she had read, the feelings that she was wondering could make a human write such phrases. Hikari sighed as she saw her house loom in the distance. She lived quite close to school, and Akira lived only a block over, Hikari's large white two-story complex.

She saw an orangey glow of the kitchen light on, and she felt her stomach rumble with sudden hungriness, and she thankfully knew she would soon be home, eating _Genmai gohan_and some _sushi _on the side. Hikari lifted the notebook to her nose, thinking that after dinner she might want to play the notes on her piano, when she got to her solitude of her room, and then show it to Takashima-san tomorrow.

_But wouldn't he be upset that I read this_ she thought worriedly, thinking that if she were him she would not want anyone to read her music. She remembered how he had slammed the book shut when he noticed her peering over and she felt her heart almost stop when she saw who was waiting for her in the corner of the crossroad between where she stood and her front yard. Hikari wanted to turn back and run when she saw the look Takashima-san gave her as he noticed that she finally arrived. Her heel turned impulsively and she ran the other way to the side of the street, pass the fresh mowed lawns, and the flowering gardens that were kept in almost every household. She ran pass several large houses, jumping the high wooden fences between them and dared not to look back at the fast footsteps she was hearing behind her. Hikari was never a fast runner, and she felt her lungs about to burst when she reached the corner of Main Street.

Their was one of the many small woods across from where she stood and she thought crazily that maybe she could hide there for a while. Breathing heavily, she felt foolish as she sped through the autumn leaves that crunched when she stepped on then, and slipped through a tall massive bark of an old oak. Hikari panted heavily in turmoil as she slid down the trunk and coughed tiredly in her hand.

_I wonder if I lost him. _She stood up after a moment and looked behind her formidably and sighed relieved. Then she suddenly yelped as she felt herself being pinned down unexpectedly by a black haired stranger. Hikari screamed as she felt Takashima-san roughly snatch the black leather bound notebook from her sweaty palms, and pin her down harder onto the woodland ground. She saw his blue eyes glare at her deeply, as her eyes inevitable filled with tears, his body pressing unto hers hard. Through gritted teeth she heard him mutter,

"I didn't want to get of on a wrong start with you but, will you just leave me alone!, I don't want anything to do with a total stranger, I don't want to be your friend, or acquaintance or anything. Nothing, you understand!"

He got up hastily but not leaving before throwing her algebra notebook in her face. She got it, surprisingly, after it smacked her on her forehead, and she lay their on the ground way after he had gone, trying to absorb the unexpected turn of events.. She lay there far after she began to cry.

*Idiot

**Hello, My name is Hikari Hanazono

***Pleased to meet you. Literally," Please favor me."

**A/N – Please tell me whether you liked it so I may put up the next chapter… **

**-This is completely AU and OOC, I regularly don't do those sorts of fics but how was it? Thank you very much, please review….**

_**Lots of love, Dagger**_


	2. Infamous

**A/N- **_**DISCLAIMER-I do not own Special A**_

Chapter 2-

_Infamous _

_(~the ways things happen~ beat 1)_

Hikari woke up sore and numb, in her lofty bed, the next morning. She blinked several times before slightly lifting her body up in a sitting position, and rubbing her eyelids open with her numbed hand. She sighed a long and restrained breath, feeling the air flow out of her aching body painfully and looked around dizzyingly, until her eyes fell on the emitting glow of her bedside clock. 6:00 a.m it read, and as she looked out the window she saw that the sun had not risen behind the bright green hills and that it was still a slight purple haze everywhere. She collapsed once more on her back, and rolled herself on her side so that she faced one of the white walls of her room.

She felt her limbs tremble and groaned as she thought of the tall buildings of Sakura High waiting for her later that morning. Her gray eyes closed slightly, and pushed irately the amber and raised pink cushions off with the heel of her foot. After kicking all her blankets off her aching body, she rolled on her back once more and gazed at her flower covered ceiling. Her chest rose gently with every breath she took and her lips shuttered with hunger as she recalled that she had missed dinner yesterday evening. Hikari had stayed a while on the ground of the wet woodland floor, far after she had been pinned down by Takashima-san and far after he had left. She hadn't dared move until she knew that she didn't have anymore tears to shed and she had mastered disdainfully to submerge the shock of his eyes glaring at her with that much intense hatred. Her heart beat wildly in her chest as her body recalled the pressure it had felt as he crushed her down in to the ground, rooting her in place, so she was unable to move, unable to see anything but his blue eyes, those blue eyes that looked at her in a way that no one had ever looked at her before. The look that was still haunting her mind endlessly. Hikari sighed tiredly and before getting off her comforting bed, she promised herself that she would not be intimidated by Takashima -san or imply that she was because of what had happened yesterday.

She clambered down the blue carpeted stairs, barefooted, into the kitchen and noticed that her parents were already awake and having breakfast. Her father was sprawled all over the stoves, flipping blueberry pancakes and stirring what smelled like soup. His steady brown eyes were however focused on his scrawny writing that was etched all over his paperwork, work that had to be filed early to the industries that same morning. In the other corner, her very young step-mom, was dozing her head amongst her breakfast of fresh pancakes and coffee. Hikari figured that she must of hit it late again at the industries last night, since she helped her father print copies of documents that had to be turned in daily.

When her parents had split up, the way she recalled she had hated this woman with all the hatred she could possibly posses, hatred that had come from the pits of her stomach, at the thought that this woman had split up her parents. But her mother had only smiled and had said softly, with her lovely green eyes, knowing and soft, that it wasn't her fault and only circumstance that had determined what had happened between her and Hikari's dad. So in the end she had come to think of her as one of her parents, and then she thought that all in all both her parents were both happy and well.

Her father looked up, softly from where he stood, his hands still clasped together holding the iron handle on the cooking utensil. He gave a small and gentle nod in her direction and as if on queue she smiled widely and said in a cheerful and carefree voice,

"GOOD MOOORNING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" she went rapidly to him, in one steady and swift stroke and wrapped her long arms around her father looking warmly in the direction of her step mom, giving no indication that she was at all upset of whatever had happened yesterday night.

"Good Morning Hikari, you sleep well tonight?" her step mom said, a hint of

exhaustion most evident in her voice.

Hikari cocked her head and smiled sheepishly "Never had a better night" she pranced happily to the table and sat down hastily on one of the wooden chairs and looked at her dad expectantly.

Her dad smiled and then said in his deep but pleasant voice, "I'm, guessing your probably starving right now considering that you came late last night and skipped out on the wonderful meal that Minami prepared for us."

Hikari clasped her hands together and lowered her head, "Which I apologize for, stuff came out at school and I had to stay awhile…." She cautiously looked up at her father hoping desperately he would buy it.

Apparently the excuse was simple and unexaggerated enough that he turned around swiftly and began expertly flipping the brown pancakes into a small porcelain plate.

Hikari sighed out discreetly and looked over to Minami whom was so exhausted that she had relapsed on the table.

All seemed to be in perfect order, the day even seemed to be more beautiful today then any other regular day. The sky couldn't have been bluer and the sun not a bit warmer that it was at that moment. It was as if the world wanted to tell her that she shouldn't even think twice about what had happened the previous night.

She wasn't going to let it bother her in the slightest bit anyway.

In a matter of minutes her dad placed her breakfast on the wooden table and she devoured it hungrily, trying to eat as much as possible before going to school….

****************************************

It didn't take long to get to school. Hikari had eaten swiftly, dressed and marched out the front door, making sure to only have happy thoughts in her head. Which wasn't a feat too difficult for her and she could manage to do it very well. She never really allowed herself to become sad, because that meant that she would possibly tarnish the reputation that Akira had for being an overall happy person. And to have Akira mad at her was living hell in it's self at times. So with a smile that communicated absolute radiance she went over to school and instantly spotted Akira, smiling and laughing, with yet another group of girls that had happily come to pay her their compliments.

"Hikari! Good Morning." Akira said as she approached her slowly, waving her hand awkwardly.

"'Morning," Hikari said softly as she took her place besides her looking at the group of young girls gracelessly. They looked at her ostentatiously and murmured between themselves. Akira raised her nicely arched eyebrows and gave her a look of amusement.

'I waited for you yesterday for the longest but you never showed up." Akira said in an annoyed voice, which was sugar coated with a graceful smile. Hikari looked up at her then ran her fingers through some strands of hair, innocently rocking back and forth on her heels. She tampered with the idea uncertainly of telling her about Takishima but she decided strongly against it.

"I had to do something quickly at the attendance office so I was running somewhat late."

It took several moments for the idea to actually sink into the air, but when it did, Akira crossed her arms and asked suspiciously, "What did you have to do?"

Hikari whistled a tune through her teeth and looked around, seeing if she could come up with something in order to avoid her question.

"Hikari? I asked you a question?" Akira said, annoyingly. Hikari thought that the only way she could avoid saying anything was to play dumb so she shrugged her shoulders and then said, "Do I have to tell you everything?"

Hikari bit her tongue when she saw that Akira looked slightly taken aback. Akira shrugged her shoulders after a moment and said, "No, just a simple question."

Sensing that might be the last she had to say on the subject, Hikari smiled and as to deviate from the subject said cheerfully, "Nice weather we're having."

Akira shrugged her slender shoulders and with a wave of her delicate hand turned back to the attention of her admiring fan girls.

Hikari sighed again and hoped she hadn't acted too weird; having Akira suspicious of her was not a good idea. After a tense moment of fighting with her thoughts she cocked her head and looked at Akira as she talked agreeably to all the girls asking her questions about her looks and her hair. Hikari sighed and felt everything smoothing out again. This was yet another part of what always happened when she got to school in the mornings. A thing about being friends with Akira was that no matter how much she complained, she always wanted their friendship to work out in the end. Hikari sometimes felt disgusted with herself but deep down inside she told herself that her reasons where valid enough.

But after several long minutes of scattered girl talk they unexpectedly said something that unwillingly caught her attention.

"So did you see the new kid walking home the other day?" one girl, with pretty brown pigtails, whispered.

"Yeah, the one with the blonde hair." Another girl with a plaid ribbon said, nodding her head politely.

"A new kid?" Akira said surprisingly. She obviously hadn't heard about this latest news yet.

"Yeah, he's real tall and has strange blonde hair, with these eyes…." The girl with the pigtails stared and ended with the ribbon haired girl saying, "That are as blue as the sky"

Akira raised her eyebrows "Sounds like a foreigner…"

"Can't really know for sure, but foreigner or not he was really strange."

"I thought he was interesting; don't see guys like him all the time.

"Is that so……" Akira said sounding more and more interested as they continued to talk.

.

"I thought he was an angel."

Hikari looked surprisingly at the girl who had said it, who was behind the girl with the pigtails and hadn't said anything until then.

Akira looked surprised as well and raised her eyes at that sudden remark, making the girl who had said it blush velvet red.

The girls seemed to panic for their friend and looked at the pigtailed girl anxiously.

"Well he is really good looking." The pigtail girl said, responding for her friend's sudden remark.

"Really now ….I wonder, Hikari did you get a glimpse of this angel?" Akira said unexpectedly, making Hikari, who was attentively eaves dropping this whole time stumble forward a little.

Akira turned around elegantly to face her and put a hand to her soft check waiting for her answer. Hikari looked at the girls blankly and back at Akira nervously, and then nodded slowly.

Akira gave a look of surprise and then before saying anything turned to the girls and smiled a radiant and lovely smile.

"Girl's wouldn't it be best if you come and see me some other time, class starts really soon me and Hikari here can't be late, and pretty girls as yourselves can't be late either. Thanks though for keeping me company" Akira winked at them and in a matter of mere instants the girls blushed, giggled and ran off apparently enthusiastic about the remarks that Akira just made.

A moment after the girls had disappeared from sight; Akira slowly turned her gaze from them to Hikari.

"So tell me, who is this new boy." She said curiously as she began a quick stride over to the building where their homeroom was.

Hikari looked nervously around but guessing she couldn't evade the topic this time around said softly, "The boy is from America…."

"So he _is_ a foreigner."

"Well, I suppose but he's probably half Japanese because of his eyes and face, and half American because of his hair."

"So his hair_ is_ blonde?" Akira said looking over at Hikari…

"Yeah, its styled strangely…but I suppose it suits him."

"Is he really that good looking as they said?" Akira said after a moment….

Hikari looked around and said uncomfortably…"Couldn't say…."

Akira smiled for a moment and said "When did you seem him?"

Hikari abruptly didn't want to answer to Akira anymore, so she said, "I just remembered, I have to turn a paper to my English teacher, and I think I should head on over there before homeroom." She gave Akira the most innocent shrug she could muster and turned to walk away, but didn't get very far before she was roughly pulled back.

"Come on, there is no way you of all people will pass that class, so why bother? Tell me more about the new guy." Akira gave her a look of total expectancy.

"What else can I say Akira, I didn't really talk to him or anything, you can't assume much from what I'll be able to tell you."

Akira frowned for an instant but since it was obvious that she couldn't get much else from Hikari she released her grip pn her shoulder.

"You're no fun; I just wanted to know what the news was, is all." She innocently swung her bag and hit her playfully on the shoulder, "Don't be so uptight, and see you at tea time." She winked again and left seemingly happy but obviously dissatisfied.

Hikari boiled there for a moment and stuck her tongue out at her before hurrying to her homeroom.

***********************

In the busy hallways everything seems to be normal, much like the same repetitious days of every other day of the year. But they weren't. Because attracting everybody's attention was Takashima, Kei. What people knew about him where the basics, which where 1) that he was from America and that 2) he was in the same math class that Hikari Hanozono was in. Well, not everyone knew that but Hikari painfully acknowledged the fact. She had math every single day, meaning she had to sit next to him…every single day. Would he still be mad at her? Would her refuse to talk to her? What about their paired up project, what then? Hikari trudged across the bustling school all day in shame at what had happened the day before. She wanted to desperately blame him for it but she felt herself to be more responsible that anything. It was her that had taken his notebook, even if it was an accident, and it was she that had read the innermost thoughts (without any permission what so ever) of this mysterious new boy. Needless to say, she was almost too nervous to function as she thought about the last period of that exhausting day.

Even though she tried desperately to make time seem slower that usual she found herself already at lunch with only two periods to go before her math class.

She hurriedly lined up at the lunch line and didn't even bother to look for Akira with whom she usually had lunch with. The disruptive air was blowing wildly around that time of day and she tried to see disdainfully despite her long black hair flapping all over her face. After a long moment of standing around in line she picked up her stray swiftly and threw it into the nearest trash can. She knew her stomach wouldn't be able to digest anything comfortably, being in the state it was. Afterward she looked to see if Akira was around and seeing that she was nowhere to be seen she rapidly went to the front quad ( the most popular place at Sakura High) to see if Akira was there or not. As she expected, when she got there, Akira was sitting there, fixing her makeup near the school fountain. Hikari went over to her and sat on the cold marble, looking down at the school's fountain, it blasts of pouring water swirling behind her.

Akira closed her compact mirror with a click and looked at Hikari, smiling.

"Do I look okay?"

"Like always." Hikari said trying to hide her anxiety.

But no matter how obvious it was, Akira would never notice any thing wrong with Hikari, for she was always more preoccupied with other matters, matters that to her where much more important than Hikari.

"Hey Hikari, I was wondering…….." Akira said suddenly looking at Hikari gravely.

"Uh, what?"

Akira cleared her throat and stood silent for a moment, as if she where contemplating something important and said, "Well, I was wondering…since we talked in the morning and well…you...you know…." She seemed nervous for some reason, which was an oddity considering the amount of confidence she possessed and before Hikari had much time to wonder why, a familiar voice sounded behind them.

"Yo!!"

Hikari and Akira both turned around slowly, looking up at the source of the voice.

"Yo, what are you two pretty girls doing out here alone." Tadashi Karino said from above them.

Hikari smiled warmly while Akira gave him a harsh cold look. Tadashi smiled nonetheless and sat next to them crossing his long legs over each other and shyly giving them a look of contempt.

Akita flipped her short hair over expertly and eyed him annoyed. "What do you want?"

Tadashi smiled charmingly and shrugged after a moment. "I was bored."

Hikari looked back at Akira who wasn't pleased at being interrupted when she obviously had something very important to say.

Hikari gazed back at Tadashi now, who was smirking to himself at the stare Akira was giving him.

Tadashi was approximately their age. He was tall, but not in a way that overwhelmed you, and his hair was black and long. He had this sort of thing about him that makes you want to laugh all the time, because of the type of antics he's always playing on everyone he deems the victim of the day. His cocky smile was charming and to Hikari, most of all, seemed to have a type of strange wanderlust. Tadashi was at all times strangely wandering to himself, always with this inexplicable smile of content on his calm face.

Hikari found him interesting, but since she never had the time to talk to him more comfortably, that was all that Hikari could ever make out about him.

"So ya seen the new guy?" Tadashi asked all of a sudden.

Hikari stomach churned unpleasantly but saw that Akira had taken interest.

"No not yet." She said softly and then shrugged looking away annoyed.

Tadashi turned his smirking face toward Hikari and Hikari surprised at his sudden attention, tried to say calmly,

"Yeah, I've met him."

Tadashi grinned and stood up in a flash, balancing both his feet and long arms on the black wire railing close to the glistening fountain. "Well, I have too. Strange fella. Ya try to talk to him and he just ignores you. Better luck trying to talk to a brick wall."

He jumped expertly on the hard concrete ground and took a bow. "What's even weirder about him is the way he acts…all mysterious, probably thinks he's too good for anyone."

Hikari shuffled uncertainly and looked again at Akira who was looking away from Tadashi and into her small blue compact mirror.

Tadashi noticed her disinterest and then jumped again, but this time to the small outer rim of the fountain, where he opened his arms for balance and started walking.

"Maybe Akira can strike up a conversation with him, considering she also thinks she's too good for anyone. See you around Hikari."

With that he jumped swiftly off the rim and broke into a small run, laughing loudly as he did so. Hikari couldn't say anything else to him because in a minute he was gone.

Akira shut he mirror and turned to face Hikari, shuffling her mirror inside her purse quickly.

'The only strange guy is him, uh how annoying, the way he pops up everywhere."

Hikari couldn't say anything but nodded as to not upset Akira.

"Anyways, there was something very important I wanted to tell you before that moron showed up so you got to listen ……."

Hikari nodded silently. Akira inhaled deeply and whispered softly, "It's about…"

"_**Hanazono." **_

Hikari frighteningly jumped in her concrete seat, and she turned around slowly as she looked up at who had just said her name.

Takashima looked down at her blankly, with his hair hiding most of his face. Akira looked curiously up at him and then to the pale stricken Hikari.

"Takashima-senpai."

"Hanazono. I wanted to apologize for what…..for what….happened yesterday." The way that his deep voice was stammering made her realize instinctively that he was having a rough time speaking to her. But apart from that small realization, the sudden abruptness surprised her.

"Senpai….I…' Hikari tried to get out chokingly, but then Akira broke into the conversation without warning,

"Hello, I'm Akira Todou, I've heard lots about you." Akira smiled dazzlingly and held up her graceful hand at him. He blinked once but then took her hand without hesitation.

"Akira Todou." He muttered her name as he shook her hand gently. Hikari, though still completely stunned by his unexplained apology, felt wordless when she remembered how rudely he had introduced himself to her.

Takishima turned back at Hikari and nodded. "I hope that you're not upset with me."

Hikari stood with her mouth agape for several seconds until she shook her head vigorously.

"No, no….I'm not…"

Akira who was smiling next to Takishima said suddenly, "Why are you apologizing, I thought you haven't spoken before."

Takishima seemed lost in thought so Hikari said quickly, "I forgot to mention, we're in the same math class…next period."

Takshima looked slightly annoyed but didn't bother to say anything. He was just staring at the thick leather watch he wore on his right hand.

Hikari continued smoothly, "And we had a misunderstanding, um….concerning….."

Hikari gave Takashima a small look, so he could back her up, but he just stared at her with the same glassy blue eyes. For a brief spontaneous moment she shuddered, thinking of the way he had glared at her the night before.

Her breath was quickening as she continued to stare at him, but since he continued to keep quiet she decided disdainfully to finally look away from him.

Akira looked confused but in the end dismissed in like any other excuse.

The bell rang. It's sonorous ring filled up the school with a chime infinitely annoying and exasperating, cutting their small conversation short. Takshima bowed to them and then without a word left, leaving Hikari short for any words and Akira smiling a small coy smile.

"Certainly interesting." She muttered after a moment after he had disappeared from their sight. Hikari sighed and tried to ignore the comment. Her heart was racing, but relived of an undeniable stress which it had been holding all that awful day. He had apologized, even though it was blunt and possibly even insincere, he had said he was sorry. The tardy bell then began to ring and it snapped both girls from their state of thought. Akira without a word began running to class, holding her small purse to her chest and flailing her other hand out in an attempt to increase in speed. All Hikari could do was look after her and walk to class before she found herself late and in trouble.

Her next class was quick to come, and she didn't think much as she walked to her Math class. Her feet strode over the floor of the school with an uncertain step, but she didn't feel nervous anymore. The long blank hallways where diminishing in students as everyone hurried to the last period of their schedules, so she didn't find it difficult at all to maneuver around the halls. She finally reached the wooden door to her classroom and she tentatively peered inside the large room, eying the students that had barely arrived and where taking their seats next to their partners. As her eyes wandered farther down the room she saw Takashima already sitting next to where she usually sat. Taking a deep breath she walked in hastily and strode towards him. Takahashi-sensei was writing the day's lesson on the blackboard as she walked by so he didn't greet her warmly as he usually did. Hikari reached her desk and scooted in to her seat. The desks where long bench like structures so as she began to quickly slide to her seat, she brushed elbows softly with Takashima's knee. She sat down quickly afterwards, eyeing him cautiously with the corner of her eyes. He was looking blankly at the blackboard, his chin resting casually on his palm. Hikari continued to glance at him from time to time, even after the lesson started and tried to see if there was an opportunity for her to say something. At some point into the lesson, Takahashi-sensei placed the white chalk on the sticking edge of the blackboard and instructed them to begin discussing project ideas with their partners.

As everyone immediately began to turn to face the person next to them, Hikari turned around to face Takashima. Takashima was still gazing out at the blackboard even though the lesson had already finished and the teacher had walked away to sit down on his desk in the corner of the room.

Uncertainly, Hikari whispered, though the ability of whether or not Takashima, who was staring intently elsewhere, would hear her was unsure.

"Um…I…I want to apologize as well Takashima-sensei, I didn't realize that it would upset you as much as it did, when I read…."

She was quickly cut off as she heard Takashima whisper back so softly that she wasn't able to see his lips move at all to the motion of his speech, "I thought I made it clear that I don't want to have anything to do with you."

He didn't face her as he said this and Hikari stood silent in surprise

"I only apologized so that I wouldn't have to deal with you later on, but understand that I don't have any obligation to talk with you at all. I'll personally talk to the teacher so that we could work on separate projects." He kept quiet after that, and Hikari stood in her seat, speechless, her small hands shaking.

What feelings where boiling in her body where not of fear or embarrassment but of pure unconcentrated anger. How dare he speak to her that way? What type of boy was he, to reject her attempts at apologizing to him?

Without thinking and without even knowing what she was saying she whispered back, anger evidently seeping coarsely through her voice,

"Get this straight; I don't care if you don't want anything to do with me, because frankly I don't want anything to do with you at all, either. And let me tell you, you're nothing special so don't treat people like their below you, because your not in America anymore. You're here, and as long as you sit next to me, I will not allow you to…."

"You talk too much." He said, reclining back and looking straight ahead as if the thought of looking at Hikari was the last thing he would ever do.

Hikari closed her mouth and looked away, unwanted tears starting to form in the corners of her eyes. She wiped them away quickly with the back of her trembling hand and avoided looking at Takashima throughout the rest of the class period. When the bell rang she quickly stood up and motioned to leave, trying to move past Takashima as fast as she could muster but her legs where trembling with so much rage she tripped on her own feet and collapsed in front of him. He looked at her, amused for a moment, but ultimately stepped over her running his long hands through his blonde hair. He walked past the teacher and out the door, not glancing back at all, his footsteps echoing away in a silent but definitive manner. Hikari fumbled on the ground embarrassedly for a moment and got up, smoothing her uniform roughly and running towards the door.

As she reached the door she smoothed out her tousled hair with her hand and started an indignant march out.

That stupid boy.

That stupid boy.

That stupid rude boy.

The beautiful lyrics she had read the other day couldn't have possibly belonged to him. They where probably copied from somewhere and the music most likely didn't belong to him either. That boy was outright awful; she could just feel it in the pits of her upset stomach.

As she stepped out the school grounds, she looked around frantically for Akira. As soon as she spotted her, she would tell her how terrible the new kid was, and maybe then Akira's fascination for him would subdue and she wouldn't have to deal with ever hearing about him again.

Storming in the mist of the bustling quad she noticed Akira elegantly poised near her car, which was a new model which a shiny exterior and a sleek black color. As Hikari angrily approached, Akira skipped toward her and smiled, "Ready to go?"

Hikari nodded but then shook her head angrily, "Akira, you have to listen to me, that guy Takashima-senpai, he's a total…"

Akira cocked her head and began waving ecstatically in the direction of an unknown someone. Hikari sighed annoyed, "Akira, listen, that new kids a total …."

"Takashima-kun!"

Hikari froze as she saw Akira waving happily in the direction of Takashima.

"Wait no... Akira!"

But before Akira even paid any remote attention to what Hikari had to say, Takashima appeared next to her.

"Toudou-san." He said bowing at her politely. Hikari's mouth dropped.

Akira giggled happily and smiled a heart-winning smile, "How about a ride Takashima-kun?"

_Takashima-kun?! _

Takashima eyed Hikari expressionlessly and then back at the expectant Akira. For some reason Hikari started to notice a small blush placed gently on Akira cheeks. Hikari groaned in disbelief.

_Please tell me she hasn't fallen for him! _

Takashima shook his head. "Thank you though."

_Why is he so nice to Akira?!_

"But Takashima-kun, since your new around here the only thing I could even think of doing would be giving you a ride as an extension of my friendship."

_Friendship!?_

"That's kind of you."

_Kind of you?! _

Takashima eyed the car as if considering it and then said, "The car only has 2 seats and your friend?"

Akira looked over at Hikari and Hikari bristled for an instant. "Hikari's house isn't too far off; it's okay if she walks."

Takashima looked over at Hikari and for an instant she thought she saw a look of amusement spread over his features.

"Alright."

_ALRIGHT?!!!!!!_

Akira clapped her hands happily, "And here everyone was telling me how detached you where. I was afraid you wouldn't talk to me either."

Takashima stood quiet this time and Akira pranced over to the car and opened the door,

"Okay, hop in!"

Takashima sat down, and looked over at Hikari, who stared at him with disgust.

It was obvious why Takashima was being so nice to Akira, and that filled her with more repulse than just earlier when they had been in class.

_The name Toudou can change everyone, huh? _

………………_._

Takashima still had the same glazed looked as before his blue eyes peering at whatever it was in the distance. She could figure out perfectly the annoyance in his face, but because Akira was Akira…he could not refuse….just like she couldn't refuse…..

_Still…..that boy…..he….._

…_he's so strange….!_

And something happened that shouldn't have happened

"_What now?" _

"_The song starts." _

And the car drove off.

**A/N- This chapter seems to drag on forever but it is very important for much interaction between the characters of the story. Overall I hope you enjoyed it. It's been a while since I last updated I know but I give thanks to those that initially took interest in my story. Please let me know what you think. Constructive criticism is appreciated. **

**Any questions are also welcome! **

_**Lots of Love, dagger**_


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